Archive for the Category ◊ Solar PV Training ◊

RepowerAmerica.org is on a campaign to bring solar power to America.

Boots on the Roof, a leading Renewable energy training institute, is enrolling students into its Solar PV Training classes. For more information on qualifications, Training Dates and Locations, click here.

request_infoSolar electric panels are the basic unit needed to power the solar energy generation system. Connected to a solar generator, these panels collect the sunlight that will be converted into electrical current that will be used to provide power to the household. These residential solar panels are built into small arrays that are either placed on the roof of the structure, or somewhere nearby that will receive maximum sun exposure. Unlike larger commercial arrangements, these panel arrays are fixed and cannot swivel to track the movement of the sun in the sky.

Solar electric panels collect the sunlight that is considered to be DC current and through the solar generator, transforms it into the AC that runs household systems and appliances. AC current is also what electrical devices need to run in North America, so any device needing power to run or recharge may make use of this solar power electricity. Through the use of the net metering system, a special meter is integrated into the system that can accurately measure the amount of wattage the consumer needs to buy off the utility grid during times the solar generation system cannot function (like at night or times when the sky is too overcast to provide sunlight). At other times when the generator produces more than is needed by the home, this overage can be sold back to the utility for the use of other power consumers.

Boots on the Roof, a leading Renewable energy training institute, is enrolling students into its Solar PV Training classes. For more information on qualifications, Training Dates and Locations, click here.

request_infoResidential solar energy is an emerging technology that will ultimately prove to be a factor that determines the future value of a property. New technology that consumers can take advantage of includes solar generation to produce electricity to run the home and a solar water heater to provide hot water for washing and other household needs.

Solar water heaters, known also under the name of solar domestic hot water system could prove to provide a method that is cost effective in providing hot water in a home. They are able to be of use in almost any climate. The sunshine they use for a fuel source is free.

The systems that solar water heaters use include components like solar collectors and storage tanks. The two kinds of solar water heaters are active, which needs controls and circulating pumps, and passive which does not. The majority of solar water heaters have to have storage tanks with good insulation. Storage tanks for solar use have another inlet and outlet valve that is connected in and out of the collector. For systems that have two tanks, solar water heaters preheat the water prior to entering a standard water heater. For systems that have only one tank, the back-up water heater is paired with solar storage in the one tank.

A solar power home most likely will take advantage of one of three kinds of solar collectors. These are:

  1. Glazed or unglazed flat-plate collectors
  2. Integral collector-storage systems (also called batch systems or ICS)
  3. Evacuated-tube solar collectors

Boots on the Roof, a leading Renewable energy training institute, is enrolling students into its Solar PV Training classes. For more information on qualifications, Training Dates and Locations, click here.

request_infoTo best understand how solar energy can help the modern consumer save money and make responsible choices for a source of power that is truly renewable, a few basic concepts need to be understood when it comes to using a solar heating system.

PV solar panels (PV is short for photovoltaic) are collectors that capture solar radiation or radiant heat from sunlight and convert it to useable energy in the form of electrical current that then can be used to power appliances or other devices within the home or building. Most PV solar panels are connected in arrays that can be either mounted on the roof of a structure, or other places where it will receive the maximum exposure to the sun’s rays. The solar array may then be attached to the electrical system of the house by a cable.

If the house or building is close enough to a utility power grid, it can be added in through a net metering system. This net meter is able to run forwards and backwards so that the consumer can draw wattage from the grid if it is too dark or overcast to generate power. Any overage in wattage generated may be sold back to the grid to be used by other customers.

If a house is not close enough to a utility grid to conveniently hook on, a system of storage batteries can be installed which can store enough electrical current to take care of any power needs until such time as the PV solar panels can capture sunlight again and recharge the batteries. When connected to solar heating systems, photovoltaic solar panels can heat a house or provide hot water.

Boots on the Roof, a leading Renewable energy training institute, is enrolling students into its Solar PV Training classes. For more information on qualifications, Training Dates and Locations, click here.

Check out this freeway sound barrier in Melbourne that doubles as a solar power station!

Boots on the Roof, a leading Renewable energy training institute, is enrolling students into its Solar PV Training classes. For more information on qualifications, Training Dates and Locations, click here.

request_infoSolar photovoltaic training is becoming a more valuable commodity, especially in rural areas throughout the world.  There, being connected to a utility’s power grid may not be feasible due to the cost, or not possible due to distance from the utility grid necessary to run connecting lines.

Training in solar energy will come into play especially in the area of solar install training. The solar technician will be able to design a system that generates enough electrical power to meet the needs of the homeowner. This new technology will bring electricity to houses that in the past have had to go without because they were too remote from any power grid system to be able to take advantage of it.

Training in  solar energy will also bring the availability of hot water to places where the only way to get it was to heat it over wood fires or use fossil fuels like coal or bottled propane gas. By using a tank-less solar hot water system powered by solar energy, people in remote areas can now enjoy the benefits of a nearly unlimited supply of hot water that will not affect the environment negatively. A solar system will also allow the use of technology like a computer where this was not possible before. One important example of this is the installation of small solar systems that power remote monitoring sensors for things like pipelines, earthquake activity or phone availability for emergencies.

It is clear that training on solar energy will provide a job path that will be very much in demand in the future as the need for renewable energy mushrooms. Even if the economy continues to decline, this is one career that will show steady growth in light of the ever-increasing need for qualified workers.

Boots on the Roof, a leading Renewable energy training institute, is enrolling students into its Solar PV Training classes. For more information on qualifications, Training Dates and Locations, click here.

request_infoA solar electric panel is the basic unit of the solar generation and solar heat system needed to wean a home off purchased electrical power in coming years. With the legislation recently signed into being and heavily promoted by the President, installation of a solar energy system will put the American consumer on the road to a savings of between $1 billion and $2 billion a year in energy costs between the years 2012 and 2042.

Home solar panels are most often installed as a part of a solar generation system. These panels are generally grouped together in a formation known as an array. This array is positioned in such a way so that it can get the maximum amount of sunlight that falls on the property daily. If the structure has the capacity the array made of the solar electric panels is put on the roof. If the structure is not able to support the load the added weight the array will place on it, the array can be placed nearby so as to get the maximum sunlight. The array can be now be attached to the house through a cable.

The solar electric panel array is usually attached to a solar generator and a net metering system that usually hooks into the local electrical utility’s power grid. The net metering system is able to run backwards and forwards to accurately measure the wattage that might be pulled from the grid during the time that the sky is overcast or dark and can’t provide sunlight for generation. In the times when there is more energy produced than is needed to run the house, this extra wattage will be purchased by the utility for other customers to use. Ideally, this is done by someone with solar installation training.

For those houses that are too distant to economically run lines from a power grid, or those that want to remain totally self-sufficient, usually will have a battery system included in the plan with home solar panels rather than a net metering system so that they can store any excess, unused power that has been generated for themselves to cover for times that sunlight is not present to power the system.

Cheap solar panels can be found with a little bit of research. Prices of solar technology is expected to come down in coming times as the amount of solar home panels in use goes up. Economic incentives signed into law recently will more than likely lead the drive to make cheap solar panels more available to consumers looking to add this renewable energy resource as a responsible choice for their power needs.

Boots on the Roof, a leading Renewable energy training institute, is enrolling students into its Solar PV Training classes. For more information on qualifications, Training Dates and Locations, click here.

request_infoLearning a new trade can be a scary thought but if you are willing to put in the time and energy to develop skills that only a select few have, you could be on your way to a better job and a new future. Solar hot water heaters have been experimental up until recently but are quickly growing, requiring needed personnel in the field.

To help make learning more accessible, several manufacturers and dealers offer training in solar hot water panels and solar water heaters. PV installation training workshops for both beginners and experienced professionals cover the basics, installation, maintenance and topics of solar pv components. Webinars are becoming quite popular because you can take these courses right from the comfort of your home.

There are different types of solar hot water systems; active, which has circulating pumps and controls and passive which do not. Because we deal with varying climates, there needs to be some type of control for those areas prone to freezing temperatures. These are known as the indirect circulation systems that pump and circulate a heat transfer fluid that is non freezing through the collectors as well as a heat exchanger. Water is heated and flowed into the home. As you might imagine, this solar water heater is more expensive than the passive system.

The passive solar hot water system is usually more reliable than their active partner and lasts longer. These units work best where the temperature rarely falls below freezing and in households where the bulk of the hot water needs are in the daytime and early evening hours. Learning how an integral collector-storage passive system or a thermosyphon system operates isn’t really that difficult once you have the hands on approach in your training sessions and a good grasp on the mechanics of the solar hot water systems.

Proper installation is crucial, taking several factors into account. Solar resources, local building code requirements, climate, and safety all need to be addressed before the purchase. There is also maintenance that will need to be performed as your equipment begins to age. Some states have already begun to require a valid plumber’s and/or solar contractor’s license. Check with your state’s contractor licensing board. This might be a good time to become licensed for the future of solar hot water heaters.

Perhaps you are looking into becoming a solar hot water dealer and need to understand the basics plus receive certification necessary to start your own business. In this case, most manufacturers are more than willing to help you approach your new venture with as much knowledge as you can handle about their products.

Other ways to learn about this popular new energy saving system is to get involved with an online solar forum or plan to attend a solar and pv seminar. Most people do not realize the waste of energy in something as simple as a hot water heater. The facts alone may interest you enough to enter the solar hot water heater business. Get involved and get solar educated.

Boots on the Roof is currently enrolling students into its upcoming Solar Thermal training boot camp. To learn more about dates, locations, and course details,  click here.

request_infoBelieve it or not, solar energy is not a brand new idea. The sun has always been used to warm the earth and energize our bodies. During the Industrial Revolution, there were a number of engineers that seriously questioned the notion that fossil fuels would always be abundant and wanted to look into using solar power instead.

If we had started utilizing solar energy one hundred years ago, we might not be scrambling to design and use solar heating panels as a cost-effective alternative.

Grid power continues to be cheaper than grid parity, the point where photovoltaic electricity is equal to or less than grid power. Engineers expect grid parity to be equal to grid power by 2015 but only in sunny parts of the United States.

The cost of solar heating panels and solar power lights is more economically feasible with the federal governments promoting financial incentives to further the development. On a small scale, this type of incentive was tried in 2006 by a group of investors that offered free solar panel installation in return for a twenty-five year contract or Power Purchase Agreement, to purchase electricity at a fixed price, set below current electric rates. This is a program for solar heating panels that seems to be working well.

Recently, Berkeley, California, came up with an innovative financing arrangement, adding property assessment, allowing the city to pay for the installed solar electric panels up front. The homeowner then pays a rate equal to the annual electric bill savings, spread over 20 years, allowing free installation. There are numerous programs such as this taking shape in an effort to play catch up for what we failed to see decades of years ago.

Price setting by supply and demand is by far the most popular type of system because of competition. However, because of the volatility of the market and the future value of energy produced, an increased risk of the cost of capital borrowed is seen. Subsidies and feed-in tariffs both point to a financial burden on the consumer that we just cannot carry with the current economical situation.

Producing wholesale solar electric panels may be an option as created by our neighbors in Germany as they have been way ahead of the United States in their manufacturing of solar heating panels. With all of the options that seem to be floating around, solar installator is an excellent career to look into for the future evolution of solar energy. As fossil fuels continue to dissipate, actually any type of education in the solar energy sector will turn into a winner.

Boots on the Roof, a premier Solar Training institute, is offering enrollments in its Solar PV Training classes. For more information on qualifications, Training Dates and Locations, click here.

request_infoTechnology is constantly evolving and energy takes a lot of credit for it. With the non-renewable resources rapidly depleting, people need to go on the initiative to find alternative resources and thanks to dedicated groups, people have successfully accomplished that. Now the challenge points to making use of these resources and finding ways to fully replace the fossil fuels once and for all so that civilization can proceed after these resources are consumed.

Solar energy is one of the useful and clean sources of energy and is now more used more often than ever before. The problem is that not all people are aware on how often solar energy is used today resulting in a huge demand for people handling solar related tasks. Solar photovoltaic training is vital in bringing solar energy to the mainstream. The following facts support why solar photovoltaic training is very important.

Solar Energy is Becoming used More Often

Solar electric power isn’t a new technology and has been utilized way back in the ancient times. This clean energy source has encountered many limitations in the past and now mobile technology is pushing solar energy forward. Soon mobile phones with solar cells will be introduced where the batteries collect power from the sun to store the energy so they can be used at night as well. There are even DIY guides how to make solar panels of your own to cut electricity costs and lots of homeowners are carrying on with that. Solar training is needed to convince these people that solar energy will soon be one of the top energy choices.

Few People with Solar Energy Knowledge compared to other Energy Sources

Communities can be at a huge disadvantage once solar electric power becomes mainstream and not many people within that community know what to do with it and how to operate the devices that are powered by solar energy. Solar training can solve these problems and encourage people to embrace modern technology and save big on utility costs. This is the best time to get into solar training especially since these utilities are going up in prices. The more people get into solar training, the more people will be convinced to use solar energy as a leading energy source.

Helps Prepare for Future Technologies

Solar technology is still in the growing stage and it will only improve as more solar photovoltaic training is encouraged. There are already some interesting methods on how to combine both solar and wind energy to power homes. As more research and development is put into solar energy, more applications will be made leading to new technologies. Everyone should get into solar training early to get a glimpse of these technologies.

There are so many people looking for other people that are experts in the solar electric power field. After you take your time with solar training you can continue onward with solar related jobs to boost your care and at the same time make a huge contribution to technology advancement.

Boots on the Roof, a leading Renewable energy training institute, is enrolling students into its Solar PV Training classes. For more information on qualifications, Training Dates and Locations, click here.